Cushion-tire.



R. IIIIIIIIII B. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 2.

- taken on about the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and

' showing it in place within a. flanged rim.

That

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MICHEL J. SELZEB,

OF AKRON, OHIO.

CUSHION-WIRE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHEL J. Semen, a citizen of the United States, residin at Akron, in the county of Summit and gtate of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCushion-Tires; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as .will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to resilient tires, and more especially to those which are known as cushion tires; and the object of the same is to prolong the life of a tire by providing ventilating openings in it and means for forcing air through said openings automatically. This object is carried out by constructing the tire as hereinafter specifically described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings, wherein-- Figure 1 is a sectional detail of this improved tire, taken through one set of openmgs therein; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the face of this improved tire,

The specific configuration and size of the tire shown in the accompanying drawings for purposes of illustration, form no part of the present invention. The tread 1 of the tire maybe of any shape and with or without anti-skid formation as desired; the base 2 may also be of any shape but is by preference flat on its face 3, and at its side edges it by reference has projecting ribs 4 adapted to be engaged by the channeled flangrlF along the edges of a wheel-rim of any d. It is also immaterial to this invention whether said flanges are integral with the rim or of some movable type, as where one flange is fixed upon the rim and the other is slipped into place when the tire is applied to-the wheel, and my construction of tire Is very well adapted to this form of fastening. ortion of the tire between its tread 1 and ase 2 may be said to be the body thereof, and in the illustration it is made of one piece of material inte l with both the tread and base port-ions, a though this detail also, is unessential, and the precise material or combinations of materials employed does Specification of Letters Iatent.

Application filed June 10, 1912. Serial No. 702,789.

7 may be said to be horizontal, and they ex- Patented June 10, 1913.

not enter into the present invention further than that the tire shall be to an extent resilient and will contain more or less rubber.

Rubber deteriorates with age and under heat, and the heat set up by kneading or compressing a solid piece of rubber, or a piece of rubber in composition with some other material or materials, is extremely injurious to itespecially when it is a tire and the compression and expansion are intermittent, rapid, and perhaps combined with considerable torsion as when the tire is on one of the driving wheels. To oil-set this as far as possible, ventilating openings have been made through cushion tires of rubber so that air may pass through the same unless the openings should become clogged. The present invention consists in providing such openings in the body 5 of this improved tire, and I construct them as follows: One set of openings 6 may be said to be vertical, and they extend from the inner face 3 of the base 2 on substantially radial lines, and preferably st-raightoutward at the transverse center of the tire and into its body 5 to a. point near its tread 1, and these openings may have any desired cross section. Another set 8 tend from one side 11 of the bod 5, and at points about midway of the Wit th of said side, inward to the vertical openings 6 near the outer ends of the latter where they merge with or open into them at the point 8 8. The third set of openings 9 may also be said to be horizontal and they extend from the opposite side of the body 5 inward to the vertical openings 6, with which they connect and into which they merge at the point 10 somewhat nearer the inner face 3 of the base 2 than the point 8. The cross section of the openings 7 and 9 may be of any desired shape, but by prcferencc they are somewhat smaller than the vertical openings 6. Such sides 'are by preference provided with rolls or enlargements 12 where they merge into the tread 1, and all of the horizontal openings open out through the sides 11 above said rolls 12, or nearer to. the hub so that their outer extremities: are somewhat pro tected from the roadway by means of this roll. A cushion tire of rubber or of rubber composition thus ventilated possesses the advantage that at each revolution of the wheel where the material of the tire is compressed the outermost. openings 7 are more or less closed so that the air standing in them is ejected. part of it outward through the side 11 of the tire and the remainder inward through the point 8 where each opening communicates with the vertical opening (3 with which it isconnected, and thence through the point 10 into and along the other opening 9 and out the other side of the tire. The fact that these openings 9 are further remote from the tread 1 causes them to be compressed to a lesser degree, and in fact they might be so far from the tread that they would not be con'lpressed at all. It is not essential that there be a great number of these openings throughout the length of a complete tire, but I would prefer that a cushion tire composed of a large percentage of rubbei be rather honeycombed with the openings because the pumping or kneading of air throughout them will prolong the life of the rubber by ventilating it thoroughly and permitting the escape of heat generated by the action of the tire as the wheel revolves under the weight of its lead. Yet I would, make all the openings of such size and of such proximity to each other that their presence will lend a considerable resiliency to the tire, further than that inherent to it by reason of its material. Attention is directed to the fact that mud and sand will hardly remain in the outer ends of any of the openings, because asthey are rapidly and constantly opened and closed to a greater or lesser extent, the foreign materials will be automatically dislodged. It is well known that cushion tires of this character when employed on trucks or electric vehicles have not so much resiliency as a rule as pneumatic tires, and therefore the vehicles are provided with springs of special resiliency, and perhaps with shock absorbers. As a result, the driver who is not looking for resiliency in the tire will use the latter until it is worn down to a considerable cxtent-much more than is possible with pneumatic tires-and of course the wear occurs on the tread side. An advantage arising from the specific construction of the ventilating openings above described therefore lies in the fact that, even when the tire'is worn to an extent that the openings 7 are exposed at the tread side, the other openings or passages 9 and 6 remain and the ventilation of the tire continues. A further advantage resulting from the location of the openings. 7 and 9 out of register with each other is that when this tire is ap' plied to a driving wheel which is under 0011- I silerable strain, it is not so likely to be torn across in passing over a sharp stone or other obstruction as it would be if the openings 7 and'9 stood in one plane or at equal disas will be understood.

tances from the hub. Finally, the disposition of these openings out of register with each other efl'ects a certain pumping action, as it were, because when thetread side of the wheel contacts with the road or street under the load, it is obviousthat the openings 7 will be compressed to a greater degree than the openings 9 which are nearerto the. rim, with the result that to an extent the air standing within said openings 7 will be pumped both inward and outward by their reduction in size and some of it will be directed through the points 8 and 10 and along the openings 9.

For stiffening the base portion of my ventilated cushion tire composedwholly or in part of rubber I preferably form herein, as the tire is made, a series ofmetallic staples 15 with their heads lying along one of the ribs 1 and preferably protruding slightly therefrom and their legs ,16 extending obliquely across the base 2 so that the tips 17 of said legs stand within the other or opposite rib 4 as'seen. These staples may be of any desired size and material, preferably metal, but I would prefer to dispose them rather close together around the tire with their legs 16 equi-distant from each other and from thelegs of the staples on either side, and all should stand atabout an angle of forty-five degrees to a longitudinal line through the tire. A cushion tire equipped with stiffening means of this character within its base can be applied to an ordinary wheel having fixed flanges, or to the rim of an automobile wheel having any type of tire fastener wherein one flange is fixe and the other movable. If applied to such i I a whegitg when the movable flange is drawn into place, if it should so happen that the width of the base is considerable, setting up the movable flange will compress the staples 15 and deflect their legs to a more obllque position than that shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. It is obvious that if the legs 16 of the staple 15 extended straight across the base, this deflection could not occur and the F to a slight degree. With this end in view the user of this improved tire will apply it to the wheel with the proper side outermost What is claimed as new is I The herein described cushion tire formed with a series of ventilation openings extendbasethan the first mentioned points of coning from the inner face of its base in a subnection, all as and for the urpose set forth.

stantially radial direction toward but not In testimony whereof I have hereunto set through its tread, a series of transverse my hand in presence of" two subscribing 5 openings connecting one side face of the the witnesses.

at about the center of its width with said ra.--

dial openings near their outer ends, and a MICHEL SELZER' second series of transverse openings con- Witnesses:

necting the other side face of the tire with WALTER R. TALBOT,

10 said radial openings at points nearer said WILLIAM F. FoUsn. 

